New Owner To Evaluate Before Making Changes

Today, Anthony Precourt was introduced as the new chairman and investor-operator of the Columbus
Crew and Crew Stadium. Precourt, the managing partner of Precourt Capital Management and Precourt
Sports Ventures, has acquired 100 percent of the club and has already taken over from Clark Hunt
and Hunt Sports Group.

So now what? Well, for now at least, things will remain much the same in the coming weeks as
Precourt and his people begin to assess the situation.

“We have a long list of goals,” Precourt said today. “We want to make this team a
standard-bearer in Major League Soccer, one of the gems. It’s a very healthy franchise, but we have
plans to make it even stronger. Obviously attendance and Goal 10K are still a priority. We’re
making progress. Close to 7,000, but we’ve got to keep pushing. We need the resources to win on the
field, so corporate sponsors. We need support of the corporate sponsors. One of the first things I’m
going to do is get out there and reintroduce myself.

“Naming rights (for Crew Stadium) is something we’ve been working very hard on and is very
important to us. I think we’ll look at the brand and see if we can make it a little more exciting.
Those are my first goals and objectives.”

Those are goals that have long been publicly identified by Hunt as key priorities to help the
Crew achieve financial solvency. This is Precourt’s first foray into the world of sports, and with
a background as a financial advisor it begs of the question of why he feels he can be successful
where the previous group has struggled.

The hope is that a new face and new approach will provide a jolt to the efforts.

“Maybe just a fresh approach; new people,” he said. “Sometimes change is important. We’re going
to go back out there and reconnect with everyone that Clark and Lamar and his team. Mark is
obviously a mainstay in the community. Mark will be making a lot of introductions and we look
forward to that. It’s just a matter of getting out there and working very hard and letting people
know how important it is to keep the Crew here and keep them successful. We’re going to need
peoples’ help to make this organization stronger.”

Team president and general manager Mark McCullers said he hopes that could spill over to the
field as well. Precourt said he met with the team today and that “they’re feeling a little down”
after losing a second straight match in dramatic fashion Saturday.

“Certainly initially it’s a shock to the system, but as I’ve gotten to know Anthony and gotten
to understand his perspective, he has tons of excitement and enthusiasm,” McCullers said. “I always
talk in our organization in terms of attacking the status quo and change can be unsettling but
change can also be invigorating. I think from that standpoint, yeah, I’d say I’m invigorated right
now.”

Raised in Denver, Precourt has studied and worked in New Hampshire, Texas and Connecticut but
now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Precourt was asked why, with a background as a financial advisor, acquiring the Crew was viewed
as a solid investment.

“I believe that Major League Soccer is really at a tipping point where the league is now almost
19 years old; the Crew has been a part of that from the beginning,” he said. “First and foremost,
it has great heritage and it’s a community asset. In terms of from an investment perspective, the
team is pretty sound and healthy. I saw a number of levers that we can pull to make the team even
stronger. I just view it as a great opportunity to grow a team, improve the operations of a team
and also be in the league where rising tides lift all boats.”

Hunt said ownership was not necessarily looking to sell the team but that as talks continued
with Precourt he felt it was the right fit.

“We had been looking for new investors and had not had any success,” Hunt said. “Anthony came to
us through that process. We weren’t really looking to him. I think at first he thought about being
a minority investor but then decided that he wanted to take the reins, he wanted to be the guy
making the decisions and running the franchise. Once we got to know him, we felt he was the right
guy.”

For now, the plan is for Precourt to be a hands-on presence in the coming months but to
eventually step back once the organization is running to his satisfaction. Changes will likely not
come until the offseason.

Included on that list could be a change to the Crew’s brand.

“We’re going to leave no stone unturned,” he said. “I can’t tell you yet. I love the name
Columbus Crew. I love the colors. The badge, might take a look at the badge. We’ve got to see about
that, though.”

And as for how long Crew fans might have to wait for a championship, Precourt offered no
definitive timetable.

“We’ve had some injuries this year that have set us back,” he said. “The hopes were that we’d be
a playoff team this year. We want to be a playoff team every year. We want to win championships.
That’s what we’re here for. As far as a timeline, I think that’s too early to tell. We need to get
in and understand the roster and the organizational structure, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say we
were here to win, so hopefully soon.”